SES ASTRA, an SES GLOBAL company (Paris:SESG)
(LuxX:SESG), has announced today that its interactive BLUCOM service
has been awarded "Product of the Year 2006" by the renowned European
technology magazine Cable & Satellite International. The award is
granted annually at the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) in
Amsterdam. BLUCOM was nominated in the category "best
playout/connectivity/service/solution", one out of 16 categories. The
Cable & Satellite International awards are one of the most prestigious
technology awards internationally. With more than 1,000 exhibitors,
the IBC is one of the most important trade shows in the areas of
digital consumer electronics, broadcast and media.
The innovative interactive BLUCOM technology is already used by
several German TV and radio channels. BLUCOM supports services like
program guides, weather and sports information and other added value
services. Furthermore, it enables voting, downloads, advertising,
chats and transaction television, thus allowing the consumer to
interact directly with the program. The mobile phone with its SMS
functionality is used as a return path. As BLUCOM can be received via
a set-top box as well as via UMTS/GPRS, virtually every household - be
it cable, satellite or terrestrial - can use the service. BLUCOM has
been developed by the SES ASTRA affiliate ASTRA Platform Services
(APS) in Germany.
About SES ASTRA www.ses-astra.com
The ASTRA Satellite System is the leading Direct-to-Home (DTH)
satellite system in Europe, delivering services to some 107 million
Direct-to-Home and cable households. The ASTRA satellite fleet
currently comprises 13 satellites, transmitting in excess of 1700
analogue and digital television and radio channels as well as
multimedia and Internet services. ASTRA's two prime orbital positions
for DTH services are 19.2(degree) East and 28.2(degree) East.
Professional services such as Direct-to cable (DTC), Satellite
Newsgathering (SNG) and Occasional Use are offered from the orbital
position of 23.5(degree) East.
SES ASTRA is an SES GLOBAL company (Paris:SESG) (LuxX:SESG). SES
GLOBAL wholly owns three market-leading satellite operators, SES ASTRA
in Europe, SES AMERICOM in the US and SES NEW SKIES in the rest of the
world. The Company also holds strategic participations in AsiaSat in
Asia, Star One in Latin America, SES Sirius in Europe, Ciel in Canada
and Quetzsat in Mexico. Americom Government Services provides network
solutions and bandwidth to the US government and its contractors. SES
GLOBAL provides outstanding satellite communications solutions via a
fleet of 44 satellites across the globe. Additional info on SES GLOBAL
at: www.ses-global.com.
